Criminal Justice Colleges in Oregon

There are a wide variety of programs available through universities offering criminal justice degrees. Below you will find a listing of schools by city as well as online criminal justice colleges that offer classes throughout Oregon.

Oregon’s $161.6 billion economy is largely based on agriculture and the lumber industry, though the lumber industry has significantly declined over the past few years due to forest fires and management disputes over the land. The technology and electronics industries are also large employers in the state, though Nike remains the largest employer, given its roots at the University of Oregon. Unfortunately, the unemployment rate in the state of Oregon was 10.6 percent as of August 2010, a little over the national average. Despite the poor employment rate, the educational system in Oregon does fairly well for its students. Higher education in Oregon does a good job preparing its students to enter the workforce, with 57 percent of students earning their bachelor’s degrees within six years. The state directly benefits from the high proportion of residents who have earned a college degree; however, due to the current economic problems, graduates have recently struggled to find work in the state.

According to CQ Press, Oregon ranked 20th for overall crimes in 2009, and other reports seem to agree with this assessment, placing Oregon in the middle of the nation concerning its overall crime rates. Like those of many other states, the most common crimes in Oregon in 2009 related to property crimes, such as larceny and burglary, and the most common violent crime was aggravated assault. Fortunately, Oregon seems to have followed the general trend for the nation in that its crime rates have slowly fallen over the past decade, despite some small increases here and there. For example, the crime to have declined the most between 2008 and 2009 was theft, though aggravated assault saw a slight uptick. Crime in Oregon is generally focused on Portland, which is ranked 53rd in violent crime out of 75 U.S. cities with populations greater than 250,000, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime report in 2009.

Whether you’re interested in a degree in corrections, criminology, or any other bachelor’s or master’s justice degree, the search for finding the right criminal justice academy for you begins with requesting a free information packet from schools in your area by following the links below.